At St. Samuel Monastery Part 2 - Life of Fr. Mettaos El-Suryani

Fr. Matta El-Meskeen (Matthew the Poor)

There was a big reaction to Hegumen Matta El-Meskeen’s leaving the monastery. His sons through Confession gathered, about ten of the Fathers that used to have him as their confessor. They decided to leave and to go after their spiritual father to stay with him at the place where he was staying!!

And this actually happened on Friday 20/7/1956, ten Fathers of Der El-Suryan left the monastery and among them was our beloved Hegumen Fr. Mettaos El-Suryani. They were headed towards the Church of St. Mina in Zahra, Old Cairo where Hegumen Matta El-Meskeen was staying (he was their spiritual father).

It is right to say that Hegumen Mina El-Baramosy the Hermit (Pope Kyrillos VI) received them with the best welcome, was hospitable and tried to calm them down and to alleviate their sorrows. They stayed there for several days.

History also mentiones that Bp. Theophilus tried hard at the time to reconcile them and bring them back to the monastery once again and promised to meet any possible wishes of their own. Even H.G. Bp. Sawiris, Metropolitan of Menya at the time tried to mediate between them and Bp. Theophilus but unfortunately to no avail.

The Fathers the monks insisted on their position not to return to the monastery once again, and they settled on the decision to go to St. Samuel the Confessor Monastery in Mount Qalamoun. Hegumen Matta El-Meskeen and the group of the Fathers the monks, boarded the train that was headed to Maghagha, then to the El-Zora village, and from there to St. Samuel the Confessor Monastery where they settled.

At around this time, Hegumen Matta El-Meskeen and the ten monks with him began working on the monastery that suffered from severe poverty and lack of possible living conditions. The Fathers built several cells, planted some vegetation and stayed at the monastery for around approximately three years. During this time, Fr. Mettaos led the prayers of the vespers (sunset service), services of vespers, midnight prayers, celebrated the divine liturgies and was an example of the ideal ascetic monk.

At this period, he lived with the Fathers of St. Samuel the Confessor Monastery like the late saintly monk Fr. Andrawes El-Samoueli and the late monk Hegumen Salib El-Samoueli the Great. Our beloved Father [Fr. Mettaos] told us how this period was one of the strongest spiritual times in his life, the life of calmness, quietness and total seclusion and isolation from the world. He used to say that he saw his departure from Der El-Suryan to St. Samuel Monastery a dark moment in his monastic life! He meant to speak about his lack of steadfastness in staying in the monastery in which he became a monk in!!

Fr. Andrawes El-Samoueli in the centre.